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Wagner's grandson to resign

Wolfgang Wagner, the longtime director of the annual festival of Richard Wagner's operas in Bayreuth, Germany, said in a letter issued Tuesday that he would step down after leading the event for nearly six decades.

The letter from the 88-year-old Wagner -- grandson of composer Richard Wagner, who founded the festival in 1872 -- was read to reporters by his lawyer after a meeting of the festival's board of directors.

The directors had no immediate comment on the status of a possible replacement for Wagner, although his daughters have handed in a proposal for their joint directorship.